James Madison Porter

James Porter
18th United States Secretary of War
In office March 8, 1843 – January 30, 1844
President	John Tyler
Preceded by	John Spencer
Succeeded by	William Wilkins
Personal details
Born	(1793-01-06)January 6, 1793 Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	November 11, 1862(1862-11-11) (aged 69) Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Eliza Michler

James Madison Porter (January 6, 1793 – November 11, 1862) served as the 18th United States Secretary of War and a founder of Lafayette College.

Porter began his career studying law in 1809 and later became a clerk in the prothonotary's office in an effort to manage a volunteer militia company at Fort Mifflin. Porter was admitted to the bar in 1813 and later appointed to attorney general for Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He was a professor of jurisprudence and political economy at Lafayette College (1837-1852), a judge of the twelfth judicial district (1839), ad interim U.S. Secretary of War under President John Tyler (1843), and was elected as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives^[1] in 1849.